Buttoner.



Patented'Deo; l9, I899;

G. F. SALISBURY.

B U T TO N E R.

(Application filed July 17, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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BUTTONER.

SPECIFICATION formingart of Letters Patent No. 659,442, dated December 19, 1899. Application filed July 1'7, 1899. Serial No, 724,056. (No model.)

To LLZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. SALISBURY, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buttoners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to buttoners for but toning collars, cuffs, shoes, gloves, and other articles; and it consists in certain features of novelty in articles of this kind which I shall now proceed to set forth in the specification and claims.

Of the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan View of a buttoner embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a side or edge view thereof. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 repre sent views showing successive steps in the operation of buttoning a collar with the improved device.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

Referring to the drawings, a designates a loop, preferably formed of wire and provided with a suitable handle, such as b, by means of which the device may be grasped and manipulated. Said handle may, as illustrated, be formed separate from the loop a of a suitable material or materials and have the ends of the loop fixed in it, or the handle may be made integral with the loop by suitably bending the wire into shape, or it may be otherwise formed with or attached to the loop, as desired.

The loop a is straight along one side, as at 2, and on the opposite side is bent to form two protuberant portions 3 and 4, connected by a portion 5, which projects inwardly toward the straight side 2 of the loop and forms a contracted portion or neck in the loop at said point. The rearmost protuberant portion at is shown as substantially triangular in shape, although this exact shape may be varied more or less without departing from the spirit of the invention, as may also that of the forward protuberance 3. That portion of the loop which includes said protuberance 3 is made sufficiently wide to give the shank of the collar-button or other button to which the device is applied free play without allowing the head of the button to slip through or become disengaged from the loop, and toward its rear end said portion narrows until the point 5 is reached. The neck formed in the loop by the inwardly-bent part 5 is preferably made slightly narrower than the average width of the shanks of collar-buttons when the device is intended for use on that class of buttons, so as to normally confine the said button on either side of the neck and prevent it from passing the neck without the exertion of force to effect such a result. The rearmost protuberance 4 is extended sufficiently far from the side 2 to admit the head of the button in applying the device to or removing it from the button, and it performs an addi tional function in holding the loose end of the collar or other article to be buttoned con fined at the neck portion 5 of the loop, as will appear in the operation. I further prefer to turn the end Got the loop a up at an angle to the main portion of said loop in order to give said end a leverage, which is effectual in draw ing the button through the buttonhole, but I do not confine myself to such formation of the end of the loop.

Figs. 3, 4, and 5 illustrate the operation of the device in buttoning a collar. Assuming that one end of the collar is already buttoned, the buttoner is inserted through the buttonhole in the other or loose end, its loop a passing clear through the buttonhole, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The loop is then passed over the head of the button, as shown in said figure, the protuberance 4 permitting the head of the button to pass through the loop, and the buttoner is then given a rearward pull, drawing the contracted portion of theloop at 5 past the shank of the button, the sides of the loop yielding to permit such passage, as

stated, and bringing the button into the forward part of the loop, as shown in Fig. 4. During this same movement the loop a is pulled half-way back through the buttonhole, causing the neck or contracted portion at 5 to occupy said buttonhole, the protuberance 4 preventing the collar from slipping back on the loop. The contracted part of the loop also confines the button in the forward part of the loop and renders easy the subsequent manipulation of the buttoner. The buttoner is next given a turning movement around the button in the direction of the straight side 2 of the loop, as shown in Fig. 5, and the button is drawn through the buttonhole, completing the buttoning operation, after which the buttoner is removed from the button by forcing the shank of the latter back past the contracted portion of the loop a and Withdrawing its head through the protuberance 4. The straight side 2 of the loop permits the latter to move easily and without obstruction through the buttonhole.

I claim A buttoner comprising a loop substantially straight along one side and having its opposite side bent to form two protuberant portions connected by an inwardly-projecting portion which contracts the loop and forms a neck therein, adapted to confine the shank of the button on either side of it, the loop being resilient so that the sides of said neck are slightly spread apart by the exertion of sufficient force to draw the neck past the shank of the button.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE F. SALISBURY. Witnesses:

R. M. PIERsoN, MARCUS 13. MAY. 

